Dive Off the Deep End
by b4tmans
Summary: In it's last hours, the Pearl stole the cursed Spanish gold and sunk with it's crew as a punishment. It was never supposed to sink. Now two divers, hired to find the wreckage of the Pearl, come upon the same gold and are sent back in time to fix things right. AU - Norrington/OC, with a bit of Sparrow/OC thrown in.
1. The Beginning

**Prologue **

**The Caribbean Islands: June 11th, 1732**

_The busy tavern in Saint Lucia was bustling with men and woman, drinking and singing and having a good time. A group of bar men stood, huddled around a small wooden table, where an older man with a white and gray beard sat and told a story of long ago. Across the bar, three women sat, hung on a rather tiny man's arms. He smiled at them graciously, before one ran her fingers across his bald head. Up rickety the stairs of the tavern, four men (one tall and lanky with a wooden eye, the other short and raggedy, another one white long brown hair and rather chubby, and the last one was tall and upright) sat around a table, playing a rather intense game of cards, their faces laced with unreadable expressions of professional gamblers._

_Across the room from them, a man with black dreadlocks and a tri-corn hat, and an old, worn out devil sat making gestures to a parchment map in front of them. One took a swig of rum from a tin glass before focus was aimed at another figure. This one sat at a table alone, her long, knotted and braided hair laying down her tan back. Under her eyes, blue dots lane and decorated her small face. The African American woman ran a hand down her torn dress before chipping to the monkey on the railing over looking the bar down below. It turned its furred head and climbed onto her shoulders._

_From down below, there was a sudden commotion, the front door of the eatery, drink-eyr, and sing-ery swinging open. In stepped a crew of men, dressed in brilliant brocades of gold and fine laces. The tall feather upon his hat beaconed out to the Captain's up above and called out danger. This one man raised his hand subconsciously to his thin mustache, his other resting on the sheathed hilt of his sword and then called out the bar owner. He looked over to the man and spat out a rather insulting phrase._

_The man standing next to the Spaniard pulled out a pistol and shot the man right in the chest._

_With in moments, the tavern was erupted into a chaotic pandemonium of swashbuckling drunks and screaming women. Swords were drawn and swung, while the Motley crew of pirates mentioned before scrambled to remove themselves from the fight. Joshamee Gibbs raced from his spot at the wooden table, ducking under men and women alike, before grasping his friend Marty from the grasp of a rather intoxicated prostitute. Racing up the stairs, Joshamee and Marty were met the other party as well. From the bottom of the stair case, the original causers of the pandemic and some others from their crew stood, posed and ready to attack. Jack Sparrow and Henry Barbossa both looked at one another, before the head Spaniard called out to them._

_The voice was menacing and laced with a language that Sparrow or any member of his crew spoke. Confused glances were exchanged quickly, as the bar fight continued below and behind them. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack watched a man be thrown off the railing and falling yelping onto a keg of rum._

"_Ah? Could you repeat that… in English. Mate?"_

_The men dressed in decadence looked extremely displeased, and just as witty Captain Jack was about to say something else, a few men from the bar fight stepped in and threw some punches at the Spanish crew. Hats were lost and swords were dropped. The crew of pirates saw this as their chance, fleeing from the tavern through the front door and out onto the busy cobblestone street where drinking and singing continued on, unalarmed by the fight pursuing inside. The crew stumbled out, running as fast as they could from the scene, while beaten and disoriented Spanish crew members hastily rushed out after them._

_The chase through the Caribbean island's street ended at the docks, where crews ditched the land for sea and mounted ships as fast as they could. Anchors were reeled in, sails let free, ropes tied and untied. Soon both captains, both Spanish and pirate, were barking orders at men, pulling out of the harbor as quick as they could._

_The Black Pearl got a lead over the Spanish ship _Bella Muerte_ as the port of Saint Lucia was left in a ravish of waves and sea water splashing upon the unlabored docks. The ships sped out of the port and onto the calm sea. Night had set in, and the stars shown brightly in the unpolluted air. Wind was raking gently against the sails, while Jack smiled to himself up upon the deck of the Pearl._

_He did it. He had stolen the Spanish Gold. And they knew._

_But, now as Jack wallowed in his pride, he did not realize the approaching Spanish Armada ship. The wind had picked up, and now, as the enemy was closing in, jack could only wish for one thing…_

_The safety of the dear old Pearl and it's poor, crew…_

…

_Canon Fire._

…

_Shouts…_

…

"_The Mass!"_

_Cracks, crashes._

_More shouts. But they are louder. Panicked._

_More fierce canon fire._

_Louder. Louder._

_**LOUDER**__…_

_and then,_ a sickening silence as the Black Pearl slipped beneath the waves.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day: Castries, Saint Lucia.<strong>

"It says the _Black Pearl_ did tons of stuff… run from French _and _British authorities, steal and loot… It even says at one point, it had a run in with the _Flying Dutchman…_" a small Chinese woman sat in the café of the local coffee Shoppe, spilling over the information on her silver laptop. She sipped casually at an iced tea, before looking to the woman next to her.

"_The Flying Dutchman?" _The brunette asked, cocking a thin eyebrow, "Like Davy Jones, _Flying Dutchman_?"

"That's what the website says, but… I don't know…" The oriental woman shrugged. Her friend laughed, before slugging back more of her water.

"Chun, that ship wasn't even real. I bet it's all about popularity, anyway. Plaster that on a ship and you'll get people from everywhere looking for it." The brunette explained, causing Chun to sigh, "But, why are you looking into this ship so much? I though it was 'just a ship' like all the other ones?"

"I said that _before_ I did some research on it! I thought for once I'd look into this one, Charlotte. I think if we are going to go diving to find this thing, then we ought to know what happened during its golden years."

"We're hired to _find _the thing, not take it out on a date," Charlotte laughed into her drink, while Chun punched her friend in the arm. Chun's stubbornness shown through and she smiled, scrolling down on the webpage more. Information came in paragraphs, explaining the timely demise of the crafty, said-to-be cursed ship.

"It says, '_The Pearl was said to be ported in Saint Lucia, when a Spanish armada ship named _Bella Muerte_, or Beautiful Death, attacked it just outside of the port, blindsiding the ship. The Pearl was sunk along with the gold that the Spanish were trying to reclaim. All crew was lost in the fight.'_" Chun read aloud.

"Okay. So it sunk… and everyone died," Charlotte paused and placed down her water bottle, condensation sweating away onto the oak bar top, "You're dark, _depressingly_, shipwrecked point is?"

"Spanish gold, _Charlotte_! This is the stuff our team has been looking for! Legends from everywhere are saying this stuff is cursed. Maybe that's why the _Pearl_ didn't make it out alive!"

"So… If we find the ship…" Charlotte began.

"We find the gold…" Chun continued.

"And we get paid a bonus!" Charlotte smiled. Chun's smile disappeared, and she placed her head in her hands.

"No, 'Lotte. We make history. _Then_ we get paid."


	2. Depth Perception

Depth Perception

**Present Day: Five days into the expedition**

The trail had become easier to find and navigate on, now that countless divers and researchers had tromped through the Caribbean brush. The pathway to the water was worn down, making it easier to carry dive equipment and making it easier to get to the water in a timely manner. The wind had picked up today, and gray clouds blurred the blue sky above, threatening to take over.

Lot's of researchers were calling it quits today, after all, a storm was supposed to hit later that evening. But, for Chun and Charlotte, it was just what they needed. With only about four other researchers present at the water, it would only be Chun and Charlotte diving. This posed as a new opportunity to find the ship, or hints in the search. With out other divers carelessly kicking up silt and muck, they could maybe find something. The eager pair rushed to the water, laughing and hopping over brush.

Laughter accompanied the chirps of birds above head in the palm trees and thick brush. Swooping down and carelessly flying, the birds paid no mind to Charlotte and Chun who were quickly darting on and off the path. A green and blue lizard scurried from its spot on a rock as Charlotte leaped absent mindedly over it her flip-flops making loud _clacking_ noises. Laughter ensued, and became unrelenting. Finally, as the two approached an opening in the thick tropical brush, the water was spotted.

Even under gray skies, the water shone a brilliant crystal blue and stretched out for hundreds of miles, meeting with the gentle horizon. The overhang before the water was a drop of about 30 feet, where when you looked down, you were met with the unbearable sense of wanting to jump. Researchers sat and studied the horizon, reading on laptops and continuing with the ever so boring job of cartography. Meeting the end of the land's edge, the pair of divers saw their good friend Daniel. Daniel Shaw was one of the expedition leaders, and dive instructors. When you went in, you talked with him over the radio. When you came out, you told him what you found… Even if it was nothing. Dan was a keen as ever on finding the wreckage of _The Black Pearl_ or as he loving called it, _Pearly._

As the two approached him, his mouth spread to reveal a set of white teeth. Smiling her greeted the two, his Australian accent lacing his words.

"What are you two doin' out here?" Dan paused and looked at the two, "There's a storm headed this way later."

Chun shrugged and explained, "We wanted to get some diving in before the storm hit. Besides, we've been diving in the rain before."

"Ah, well, do me a favor and be careful. I don't want anyone getting hurt today, not like yesterday at least." Dan warned the two, patting them on the shoulders. He was referring to an accident that happened yesterday.

It was around noon and one of the other divers had to search the caves below the drop off for any signs of the wreck. He radioed in and said he found something, something shiny and out of reach. Dan said to try and get it, but in the process the diver had gotten his arm stuck, right as he grabbed the object. His arm was pinned in between two pieces of stalagmites, those columns that form on the ground in caves. About three other divers had to come in and get the diver out before his air ran out. They had to cut the stalagmites and everything.

Chun was almost certain that what the diver had grabbed was the Spanish gold, and that's what caused the accident. After all, this gold did seem to leave its trail of bad luck.

Charlotte and Chun obeyed Dan, mounting up in all of the diving equipment over their bathing suits and then returning to their Australian friend for radios and guideline cable. Once they pair was set in scuba tanks, gear, flippers, rope and radios, Dan bid them farewell and into the deep blue ocean they went.

Charlotte was the first to bravely hop over the end of the drop off and into the crystal blue water. Her splash was accompanied by her laughter and happy screams and cheers. Chun followed suit, lading a few feet away from her. They pair waved up to Dan before fixing their masks and mouth pieces. With in seconds, they were under the warm blue water. The world above was forgotten in a spurt of air bubbles and they were submerged.

The water was cooler as the pair descended. Fish shimmered with brilliant silvers and reds and yellows as they swam over delicate coral. The only sound was that of the oxygen tubes and breathing of the two women. Swimming farther down, the underwater cave was spotted, and smiling to herself, Chun radioed Dan.

"Dan, we found the cave. We're going to hook up the guideline and go in." The radio crackled up above the pair on land. Dan gave the go ahead as he watched their lights fade into the water below him.

"Make sure to head back when your tank is at 2/3 empty, over."

"Copy that."

Chun swam to the sign that was placed a day before that read "Guideline Hook" and tied a secure knot around the basin of the sign. Doubling her loop, she tugged on it tightly before handing the rope back to Charlotte, where she would lead and let the rope out as they went. The guideline was extremely important with this dive, especially since it was easy to get lost in the underwater cave system.

These caves ran for miles under the islands ports and harbors. So, to Chun and Charlotte this was a field day. Watching the fish and cave life as the entered the opening, Charlie was extremely pleased with the sights. Coral decorated the underwater castle like crystals and fish as its inhabitants. Lights from their head gear shown brightly and as the two continued through the caves, not uttering a word to one another. They were slow, a careful not to disturb any of the muck and dirt.

* * *

><p>They either lost track of time, or time lost track of them, because an hour after they originally entered the cave system, Chun noticed her air tank reading.<p>

"Charlotte, I think my tank is broken… It's been reading 1/3rd fro the past half and hour…" Chun's voice was shaky and panicked. She knew what would happen if one of them were to run out of air down here. Charlotte swam over to Chun, and checked her tank.

"Weird. What does mine say?" Charlotte turned around so she could read it.

Chun's heart stopped.

The dial on her tank was resting half of a number away from the end of the supply.

"Shit. We need to get out of here. Now." Radioing into Dan, the only sound that Chun received was crackles and snaps. She was in a full blown panic now… Her tank was almost empty, no radio contact… The line!

"Let's try to do this… If we follow the line we should be fine." Charlotte tried to calm her friend down, and tugging on the line with her hand, Charlotte suddenly noticed the lack of tension…

"What the-" Pulling once more, all tension was gone.

The line had snapped.

"Oh my god…" Chun's voice echoed through the water. She started to panic. But remembering her dive training, she began to try to calm herself, reserving the air in her tank for needed time.

"Chun… It's ok. We'll get out of here… C'mon… I can feel a current up ahead. Maybe it leads out to the ocean." The two swam for more distance, each trying to battle their own emotion and feelings. Charlotte was constantly trying the radio to no avail. They kept swimming, their hopes diminishing with every movement. Suddenly they found a passage leading into a more spacious cavern. It was deeper too, signaling to them that the water was now being fed more and more. Darkness swallowed their feet as they swam up towards a crack in the wall.

"Wait…" Chun whispered. Her headlight had grabbed the spark of something.

A coin. It was resting on a rock above the darkness, waiting to be found. She dived down, despite Charlotte's protests from the top. As Chun grasped the coin, she was descended into darkness; the only trail was the bubbles of air from her tank. Charlotte could make out the light from her headlight as it scanned and stopped suddenly. There was no light.

Charlotte began to panic. Chun's power had died. Which meant her tank was out of air…

Swimming as fast as she could, Charlie hurried after her friend who was now nearly impossible to find under the dark, murky ocean water. As she descended, she passed through a distinct halocline, where normal water meets salt water and creates a blurry layer. That was weird, seeing that it was all salt water…

Suddenly, Charlotte's tank got snagged on something, and as she looked up, through her murky clouded vision, she saw the broken and splintered mass of a wrecked ship…

_The Black Pearl._

As her tank ran out of oxygen and her lights began to fade, the last thing Charlotte saw before she fell unconscious was the haunting image of those black sails…

**A/N: Sorry this one's short... But I wanted to get the dive out before the actual story begins.**


	3. Powdered Whigs & Short-stacking Lords

**Powdered Whigs & Short-stacking Lords**

**On board **_**The HMS Endeavor :**_** June 1st, 1731**

The first thing that Chun Fey Bai noticed when she awoke was the overwhelming smell of sea water. She didn't even have to open her eyes, just breath in and out, and there was the salty sea smell. The next thing she noticed was the gently rocking motion of a boat and the annoying cawing of seagull's overhead. Soon, she noticed the sun was beating down on her relentlessly, and that she was soaking wet.

Now, to wake up and find yourself aboard a ship surrounded by dozens men in brocades, tri-corn hats and powdered white whigs is never a good thing, even if you were partying with revolutionary war re-enactors the night before. The fact that most of them were staring at her like she had three heads made the situation even worse. Two men, that in her mind resembled Mardi gras floats quite closely, cocked their heads to the side at the same time as she sat up.

"Well, look at that." The one on the right remarked with a straight face.

"She's finally awake, Gillette." The one on the left smiled and made his way through the men to help her up. He greeted her with a hearty smile as he bent down to her. Behind him, Gillette was barking orders to no one in particular.

"Will someone please run and get her some clothing? She's almost naked, for God's sake! And get Lord Beckett and Admiral Norrington while you're at it! C'mon boys, hop to it! Stop staring!" A few men scurried off, and as Chun looked down, she noticed Gillette's alarm. She was only in her bathing suit, which was a rather revealing bikini. Instantly, throwing her arms up across her chest, the man next to her laughed.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Chun rubbed her head, as a terrible head ache came on.

"I'm Theodore Groves. You're aboard the _HMS Endeavor_. We're an English naval ship, just crossing through the islands." Theodore explained slowly, placing a hand on her back, "We found you drifting on piece of ply wood only an hour ago. You must have been adrift for a long time… By the extent of those sunburns…"

Looking down, Chun noticed the redness of her arms and legs. When she moved, it burnt.

"We found another woman with you, she was conscious, and she's with our Admiral and Lord Beckett right now." Chun's eyes lit up.

"Charlotte?" Her voice came out in a hoarse dry exclamation.

"Yes. I believe that's what she said her name was, now-"

"Chun! Oh my god!_ Are you okay_? You scared the living spirit out of me!" Charlotte came rocketing out of the quarters below deck with the slam of a door, and behind her a tall, lean man dressed in naval uniform and all followed an extremely short, whigged man.

Chun was helped to her feet by her friend and pulled into a large hug, but before Charlotte could say anything else, Chun yelped.

"Ow! Charlie! Sunburn!" stepping back, Charlotte's eyes widened as she apologized and tried to hold back laughter. She covered her mouth with both hands and looked her over.

"You look like a lobster…" her voice was just above a whisper, filled with regret and instant apology. She went to hug Chun again, this time more gently. Returning the hug, Chun patted her friend lightly on the back. The hug was interrupted by the cough of the smaller man, as he eyed the two questioningly. A young boy scurried across deck and quickly handed Chun a white under dress, and she accepted it thankfully.

"Ms. Lindsie, would you care to introduce your friend?" His voice was careless and laced with an English accent that made Chun want to punch something. But, now that she thought of it… Mr. Groves and Mr. Gillette had the same accent…

"Ehm, Yes. Sorry, Lord Beckett. This is Chun Bai, she's was my mother's seamstress when we were aboard our ship. She was above deck when the pirates attacked, and I found her and hauled her onto the piece of wood I found on." Chun tried not to smack her friend. Her mother's Seamstress? On a ship? She didn't even know how to sew! Shooting her a questioning look, Charlie gave her the 'Just go with it look'.

"Is this true Ms. Bai?" Lord Beckett took a step closer to her, and she realized that he was roughly about the same height as her. He looked as if he hadn't shaved, and four o'clock shadow lined his strong jaw. His blue eyes were clear of any malicious intent, but full of curiosity. He looked familiar, and Chun thought she knew his name from somewhere…

"Ms. Bai?"

"I'm sorry, my lord. Yes, that is correct." Chun felt his eyes on her, studying the way she had just done to him. The blue orbs darted across her face and to her eyes. No doubt he was questioning her oriental heritage.

"Please, do explain that rather… revealing outfit you were sporting earlier… No woman should ever be caught wearing that. Let alone on a ship with _men._" Chun shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and saw Charlotte hold back laughter out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, you see, Charlotte's mother, Lady Lindsie, was a very… interesting woman. She wanted an outfit that she could wear when swimming. And of course, since Ms. Lindsie's husband was gone of late, she decided to… Have some fun with it, I think she said." Chun paused and looked to Charlotte who was blushing furiously. The men on the ship were smiling now, and some were laughing. She noticed Lord Beckett's cheek tinge pink, "I had finished and was merely modeling for here when the attack happened."

Beckett nodded once and looked to Charlotte.

"Very well then. Please, you must be tired from this whole ordeal?" Beckett turned to face the man behind him, "Admiral Norrington, would you show Ms. Lindsie and Ms. Bai to the private quarters below deck. I think they will meet their fancy quite well."

Norrington nodded and motioned for the girls to follow him below deck. Once they were out of Beckett's and the men's sight, James laughed.

"Not to be too forward, Ms. Lindsie, but your mother sounds like quite the character." James voice was gentle and humorous. Charlotte groaned.

"You have no idea. And please call me Charlotte."

As the trio made their way below deck, James showed them the room where they would be staying and gave them the key. As he was leaving he called over his shoulder that if they needed anything, just holler and he would be down in an instant, as would many other men willing to help them. Charlotte and Chun stepped into the plainly decorated room, and locked the door.

"Oh my god." Chun breathed before sitting on the bed against the right wall. She placed her head in her hands, "I'm your mother's seamstress? Our boat was attacked? What is going on? Who are these people!"

"I had to make something up! What was I going to tell them? That we drowned in a scuba diving accident and magically ended up here?" Charlotte sat down at the desk against the window and looked out to the sea, "As far as I can tell, that Spanish gold sent us back in time or something…"

"Spanish gold? You mean we found _The Pearl?_!" Charlotte was quick to shush her friend. Motioning for her to be quieter, Charlotte nodded.

"Don't go saying the name around here. When I was in Beckett's office, I saw a map… It's got all the places that _The Black Pearl _has been seen mapped out on it." Charlotte paused and stood near the door, "Apparently, _The Pearl _hasn't stolen the Spanish gold yet…"

"Maybe we were sent back to stop them _from_ stealing it." Chun reasoned, running a hand through her short black hair, "So we've got to find the _Pearl_ quickly. What's the date anyways?"

"June 1th, 1732."

"Well… We've got a 10 days to find the ship and it's crew."

"Great. This is like a game of Jeopardy. You better have memorized all of that stuff you read on that goddamn ship." Charlotte sighed, "Or we may be stuck here forever."

"Speaking of stuck, what the hell did you tell them? Our ship crashed?"

"Uh, actually no. I told them that our ship was attacked by Pirates. And the ship had black sails. Also, I told them that we want our belongings back from the pirates… And Beckett said tat might be able to happen Seeing that the ship was spotted near here." Pausing, Charlotte notice Chun's smile.

"So, we just have to stall long enough to stay on the ship, and then hop aboard the _Pearl_ as it sails away." Chun worked the plan out, and gave props to her friend. It was a pretty good plan, but only one problem…

"How the heck are we going to get away with this… I mean, it's a ship full of naval officers…"

"Eh, all men have their weaknesses." Charlotte closely examined her nails when there was a knock at the door. Looking up, both girls called out, "Yes?"

"Lunch is being served on deck, maladies." A small voice piped up from behind the door. Opening it carefully, Chun saw the same boy who had given her the white dress earlier in the day.

"Oh, thank you. We'll be up in second." Charlotte smiled and as the boy turned to leave Chun suddenly called out.

She was not looking forward to dinner.


End file.
